The Silence of a Somber Day

Whispers In the Rain part 1

He wasn't dead, despite popular belief amongst the paramedics. That would have been too easy, wouldn't it have been? His body was adapted to that kind of fall.

That's what it was. A fall. Tommy had been conscious enough for a few minutes to explain what had happened, despite most of the paramedics telling him that talking wasn't necessary. Tommy ignored them as he explained that he was crawling onto the fire escape in order to get some fresh air when he slipped into the water. The paramedics shared a look before agreeing to the story. With that out of the way, Tommy slipped back into the world of the unconscious.

——

There were moments when Tommy was more aware than others. He was never able to open his eyes, but his nose and ears did the job of filling him in on what was happening.

The first scent he caught was of the person who smelled like cigarettes and cinnamon. They were crying as they grasped Tommy's hand with a gentleness people used when handling glass. Tommy wanted to open his eyes to explain to Wilbur that he was awake but everything felt heavy. Tommy couldn't open his eyelids, much less make a noise to alert the older man.

"... they say it was an accident," Tommy heard Wilbur say. He had been speaking for awhile, but this was the first time he was able to comprehend the noises said out loud. "I don't know if it was or wasn't. The doctors say you'll pull through, but they aren't sure when you'll wake up. It could be days or years."

Tommy didn't care how long it was. He hoped that his body would feel better once he was able to pull himself out of the darkness.

"When you wake up, we're going to have a long talk. I care about you, Tommy, in a way that I don't feel for anyone else. You're like my younger brother. I have to protect you. I failed this time, but I'm not in the future," Wilbur kept talking. Tommy wanted to reassure him that he hadn't failed. It was an accident that no one could have prepared for. Tommy had been upset, and he wasn't paying attention to the world around him to the extent that Tommy slipped.

"I'm going home. Just for a bit. I need to shower. Maybe eat a snack or meal or something. I'm coming back, though. You're not getting rid of me that easily," Wilbur said. The sound of a chair screeching against the floor before a door clicked filled Tommy's ear. Wilbur was gone. Tommy decided it was a good time to fade back under the shadows.

——

A salty breeze wafted in like the sea when the wind blew across it. Tommy was tugged back to the surface by a person holding his hand in between their warm hands. They were whispering softly like Tommy truly was asleep and they wanted to ease him into wakefulness. "Tommy... you have to stop scaring me like this. Before you know it, I'm going to adopt you, and ground you from all high up places."

Tommy knew that Niki was itching for a hug. She wanted to hold Tommy in her arms like she could be the barrier between him and all the scary, dangerous parts of life. Niki settled for cupping Tommy's face in her hands. Tommy felt tears drop onto his hands, but he knew that it wasn't him that was crying.

"I love you, Tommy. You are like the child that I might never have. I want to keep you safe and sound. It's more than instinct, it is something ingrained in me. Please don't ever do anything like this again. I can't lose you," Niki whispered in her sobbing. She pressed her forehead against Tommy's. After a few minutes, someone opened the door. This person smelled more like a lake and water lilies. Tommy remembered watching the fireworks while the water lilies bloomed on the stream surface.

"Niki, it's about to be closing time. I told Wilbur to call us the moment he gets news," Puffy said as she wandered closer. Tommy felt her hands twisting in his blonde hair, gently racing through them. Tommy felt himself reaching for the light they provided in the darkness, but it was gone faster than it arrived. Tommy slumped back into the darkness as he heard Niki and Puffy leave.

——

"You didn't give up on me," Jack said. He was on the other side of the room, the smell of firewood faint from the distance. He sounded guilty and sad. "I'm not giving up on you, either."

Tommy had been timing each of these visits. If Wilbur and Niki came the first day, this was only the next day. Tommy had been aware in his asleep for two days, and he couldn't have imagined his comatose had gone on longer than maybe a week, if that much. Why Jack sounded any bit of guilty was beyond Tommy.

"I know that you're going to wake up. I know you'll start walking around before you should. I know you'll yell even when your lungs hurt. I know that it will all be okay in the end," Jack continued. "I wish you'd get better faster, though. I wish you'd call me an idiot for feeling guilty, and laugh at the state I've found myself in. I wish you would give me one of those rare smiles, the soft ones that mean you genuinely care about that person, the ones you gave me. Don't think I haven't noticed the admiration you have for Sam, or the love you have for Niki. How your eyes brighten when you hear Wilbur's voice or how you start bouncing when Quackity is standing next to you."

Tommy didn't know that he had done any of that. He wondered if Jack was bluffing, trying to get him to wake up because normally, Tommy would deny it. Tommy wanted to call Jack out on his lies, but he felt something glue his lips together so not a peep escaped. Jack sighed as he left the room, and Tommy wanted to call out to him.

——

"You know, they put my name on the paperwork," Sam said sitting right next to Tommy's bed. The smell of gunpowder made Tommy's nose twitch, but it seemed that Sam didn't notice. Not like it would have mattered except giving false hope that this time Tommy would wake up.

"I knew you were parentless. It was how you conducted yourself. You gravitated towards parental care when you were upset. But..." Sam stopped before taking a deep breath. "I don't understand. What happened between you and your parents? Why did the doctors say that your boss was the person responsible for signing all the paperwork? I shouldn't pry, but this seems like something more than your parents dying. If that were the case, a social worker would have signed off. In this case, something happened."

Tommy wanted to laugh. He wasn't an orphan. At least, he didn't think he was. Tommy didn't know if his parents had died since he had been away from them. Tommy didn't care if they were dead or alive. Tommy had lived a prosperous life without their support. Though, he probably should thank his mother for giving his body the strength to survive falls like the one he endured.

"You don't have to tell me. I don't need to know. You can keep whatever happened between you and them a secret forever. But, I want you to know that there are people who care about you. If you ever need fatherly advice, I'll be here to lend a thought," Sam compromised. Tommy wanted to appreciate that offer, but it didn't sit well with him.

——

"Big man, I think you should wake up," The man said. He was playing solitaire on Tommy's bed, distracting himself from the problem in front of him. Quackity smelled like cheap whiskey with patches of other people's perfume and cologne from running gambling tables as the House.

"I miss my friend," Quackity spoke in few words, but Tommy knew exactly what Quackity was trying to say. Tommy knew that Quackity didn't know how to deal with this type of grief. Tommy couldn't deal with any types of grief.

"I never got to apologize. I know you've been avoiding me and Sam after seeing my fiancees. SapNap refuses to talk about you. I want you to know that no matter what the beef is between the two of you... we can solve it together. We can all be friends again," Quackity finally said what had been on his chest. Silence stretched between them as Quackity played a few more rounds.

——

Tommy opened his eyes. He stretched his limbs from the few days he had spent laying in the same position. He pushed himself into a sitting position to look at his pale hands that had wires attached to it. Tommy flexed his hand to see how he felt. There was an ache that ran through him, but he didn't feel any real pain that could hinder him.

The window slid open, and someone crawled inside Tommy's hospital room. The moon created a dim haze around their figure, and Tommy could see from the heart monitor that it was 2:36 a.m. Tommy looked back at the person as they fell onto their knees next to Tommy's bed, tears racing down their eyes as they clung desperately to the sheets.

"Don't ever do that to me again."

Clay.